Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 12

Life, Organisation Association

On mission for The Spider, Rue finds themself following Blue and Suplex into the Seafaring District, where they get embroiled in yet more superhero drama.

Knowing from the conversation earlier that Blue and Suplex would be cracking skulls in the docks, Rue headed in that direction, keeping their nose trained for the scents of either hero. With the wind behind them, it took quite a while to get any sort of sense, but they quickly capitalised on it, approaching as quickly as they dared with the quickly-hardening layer of ice underfoot.   The sound of the blowing wind soon gave way to shouting as Rue got closer to the lower docks area, near the old fisheries where illegal deals have been known to go down.   "Come on, Adrian," came the unmistakable voice of Suplex, carried by the wind to Rue's hyperacute senses, "Don't be an idiot. You know you've gone too far this time."   "Don't take your eyes off her boys," another voice, undoubtedly Adrian, shouts, "I ain't got nothing to say to you, Rachel!"   "Come on, Adrian. Is this what your mum would've wanted?"   "You leave my mum out of this!"   Rue arrives to the area just in time to see a stand-off underway with a half-dozen men in an old building, surrounded by crates and pointing guns at the redheaded superheroine and her looking decidedly unfazed.   Expecting two superheroes, Rue keeps themself hidden, scanning their surroundings for the absent detective. Despite Suplex's confidence, they can't help but worry about the sheer number of enemies surrounding them.   ''Come on, Upton...'' Rue whispers softly, watching as one of the men starts creeping closer to the redhead. ''Don't leave her hanging...''   As the scene unfolds, Suplex continues to try and talk down the leader of this posse, telling him that if he surrendered peacefully she'd testify on his behalf at the trial, but it's futile.   It seems whatever Adrian's been peddling he's also partaking in. The man seems jittery and distracted, his eyes rapidly shifting from one direction to the other as he wields the gun in his hand with reckless abandon. Rue was getting anxious while watching the display, but Rachel as ever seemed cool and collected while faced with the threat of violence. It would've been admirable if it didn't seem so foolhardy.   The tension was palpable, but before Rue got a chance to think about anything else, their stomach dropped as they felt the unmistakable pressure of a gun pressed to their back.   "Put your hands up," demanded a woman's voice from behind them, "And stand up. Nice and slowly..."   Cursing themself for missing the woman sneaking up on them, Rue does as they're instructed and puts up their hands. As they gradually move to stand up, they glance around for something to use.   They could try to telekinetically disarm the woman, but it would be a risk if the woman has more than just a gun, and so they bide their time, turning their head to try and catch a glimpse of their attacker.   "Don't you turn around!" The woman snaps, "Get moving, you. That way." She pushes Rue towards the entrance of the building and shouts to her comrades, "Addy, she's got back-up!"   Rue can hear Suplex mutter "Shit." To herself, but as they are lead into the main open area, her face fills with confusion and then relief before the telltale expression of a plan developing, "Oh no..." She moans, theatrically, "You've captured my new sidekick, the... er... Kick-Butt Kid! Are you okay, Kick-Butt Kid?"   ''Oh you know,'' Rue gives a noncommittal shrug whilst keeping their arms up. ''Another day, another threat at gunpoint.''   They lock eyes with Suplex, ready to strike when needed. ''You okay over there?''   "You know... Could be better," she replies, "Situations like this always get me a little Blue."   "Shut up!" Adrian cries, seemingly trying to get his head together, "You two are planning something, aren't you!?" He continues, pointing his gun towards Rue, "What she mean by that!"   As Rue's eyebrows raise at the sudden screaming, another voice echoes from the darkness behind the drug dealer, "I think she was actually talking to me." The men all did a quick spin and pointed their guns towards Blue, his cocksure attitude infuriating Adrian, "What are you doing here!?"   As this little distraction was going down, Rachel nodded meaningfully at Rue and the woman, and mouthed the words, 'You got this?'   Giving a curt nod back, Rue dives to the side, twisting to look at their assailant and yanking the gun out of her hand with their telekinesis and using it to pistol whip the woman across the head.   The woman's head flies back with a splatter of blood as the butt of the pistol crashes into her nose and she cries out. The rest of the men turn around at the noise and begin firing wildly.   Suplex, acting within milliseconds, grabs one of the men by the arm and spins him around, throwing him into another. Blue meanwhile, makes a beeline for the closest, using him as leverage to spin-kick another before body-slamming him into the ground.   For all his bluster, Adrian bolts to the side as he sees his men being taken down, inadvertently taking cover behind the same crate that Rue has found themselves behind. He spots the young superhuman and pulls his gun up to aim. Rue has but a moment to react.   Their instincts kick in the moment the gun is aimed at them. Their arm shoots up in the direction of the crate, their telekinesis taking hold of it as they pull their arm back to their side, the case whacking hard against the man’s side.   The wood splintered with the force of the impact, spilling disused fishing equipment and the concealed drug paraphernalia therein onto the ground, and knocking Adrian to one side.   A shot rings out, distinct from the gunfight going on behind the crates, and Rue looks around for the source of the blast. Their eyes eventually fall on Adrian's pistol, dropped to the floor before them after being hit, its barrel smoking lightly as it cools off on the floor.   Rue looks down and sees blood.   Their fingers move up to the red patch blossoming on their left side, the warm liquid staining their jacket. Gritting their teeth as they do so, they press down on the wound, stumbling slightly as they use their other arm to lean against another crate. On the other side, Rue can hear the fight dying down, no doubt in the heroes’ favour.   They drag themselves around the crate, their left leg dragging behind as they find themselves unable to force their muscles to lift it. They see the heroes finishing out the fight with nary a scratch on them and feel a little embarrassed about their own state.   Suplex smiles down at a job well done and looks up at Rue. The colour immediately drains from her face as she sees the state of them, barely able to utter an "Oh my god," and run over before the younger superhuman drops to the ground. With Blue's assistance, Rachel inspects both sides of the wound, "You'll be okay, sweetheart. It's a through-and-through." she says, tearing up strips of her jacket to pack and wrap the wound, "We just need to get you to the hospital. The doctors will patch you up."   Even in their state of shock, the mention of doctors rouses Rue enough to elicit a response, “N-no!”   Rue bats away the hand, gasping as they try to sit upright. They place their hand over the wound again, pressing down on it as they try to move away from the pair, their back leaning against the crate, “No doctors…”   "What do you mean 'No doctors'", Blue asks, looking between Rue and Suplex, "You've been shot!"   The latter hero gives Rue a meaningful look and pauses, "You sure?"   Taking their time to catch their breath, Rue nods at Suplex, “I’ll be fine..” They grind out, bracing themself to get back onto their feet. The movement is slow, the pain in their side sending a jolt throughout their body, but they shakily get back up on their feet, leaning heavily against the crate until they find their balance again.   "Alright, tough guy," Rachel says, lifting Rue's arm to help stabilise them, a gesture that would usually make them very uncomfortable, but they are too woozy to complain, "You're clearly delusional... Blue, call Transonic. We'll meet him back at my place."   "Great, another hero." Rue weakly tries to push away from Suplex again, but their vision is starting to blur around the edges, their limbs no longer cooperating. They can feel themself leaning on the hero more and more, their energy draining rapidly alongside the adrenaline.   “N-no…” They slur weakly, not quite certain what objection they were about to voice as their thoughts get foggy.   As the world around them grows dark, the last words Rue hears before falling unconscious are "Man, this kid's picky," followed by silence. Rue's perception of reality faded in and out, seeing little glimpses of travelling, an apartment building, and a man in bike leathers.   When they wake up, they're groggy and weak, lying on a couch in an unfamiliar flat, wearing a t-shirt that isn't their own and being watched over by a familiar redhead.   "Hey, sleeping beauty," she says, whispering in her softest tone, "How are you feeling?"   Still feeling a little confused, they take a moment to get their bearings, the previous events gradually coming back to them. Their hand moves up towards their side, feeling the bandages underneath the shirt.   ''Feel like I've been shot.'' Rue sighs, closing their eyes as they try to listen out for other people in the apartment.   As they come more to their senses and look around, they see that the place is a little nicer than Doug's but still fairly sparse, with a couple of couches and a television, and no books on every surface. The place was warm and felt safe, inspiring a feeling of calm in Rue, and the familiar scent of daisies was mixed with the sounds of rustling in the kitchen, leaving no uncertainty as to who was making breakfast in the kitchen.   Rachel chuckles as the concern in her face lightens a little, "Well, it's good to see you remember that much. We brought you here after what happened at the docks... You were pretty adamant about not going to the hospital. Bad experience with doctors?"   Rue visibly winces at the mention of doctors, their eyes downcast, ''Pretty sure you've seen the scars...'' They mumble, their fingers clutching on to the fabric of the new shirt they're wearing. They smile weakly, their expression sad despite the upturn of their lips, ''So how screwed am I?''   "I'm afraid we did," she says, looking away, "Sorry about that. We had to do what we could to stop the bleeding."   "Ah, there's our favourite patient," comes the voice of Jasmine from the direction of the kitchen. Rue turns and sees the smiling woman in an oversized t-shirt and pajama shorts, carrying a plate of buttered toast and a glass of juice, "I heard you two talking and thought you could use a snack." She places the toast on a coffee table in front of Rue and hands them the glass.   "Screwed? Not so much," Rachel continues, "The bullet missed anything vital and I happen to know someone who could patch you up in less than a second. You heard of Transonic? He's a dab hand with a sewing needle."   ''Yeah, I've heard of him.'' As they try to push themself upright a little to take a sip, the dull ache that had been present flares up with a jolt, making them gasp, ''That's not what I meant, though...'' They nervously chew their bottom lip, not quite meeting Rachel's gaze.   A somewhat serious look falls over the two women, like this was a conversation they were hoping not to have. Rachel sits back in her chair and sighs as Jasmine takes initiative, "You mean, how you've been working for Spider?"   Rue nods sullenly, running their thumb across the rim of the glass. They can feel Jasmine and Rachel looking at them, but they can't bring themself to lift their head. They realise, with a pang, that it's not because of the pain or exhaustion, but because they're feeling vulnerable and exposed.   ''I don't suppose a superhero can turn a blind eye to that, can you?''   There is a pregnant pause in the room as Rachel and Jasmine give each other a long look. After a few moments, the silence is broken once more, "If we were going to send you to the police, do you really think we'd have brought you back here?" Jasmine asks, raising a brow.   "It's not a simple as turning a blind eye to something, Rue," Rachel picks up, "We know no-one works for Spider without having nowhere else to go. What are you, sixteen? We've been there, and we want to help you."   "I saw it that day you saved me in the courthouse car park, and Rachel did with the White Knight," Jasmine says, leaning forward to lend weight to her words, "You're a good kid. We don't know your story, but we can see that much. Why don't you let us help you?"   Their shoulders slump in defeat, their black curls obscuring their eyes as they listen to the two women, ''It's not that I don't appreciate the offer...'' They begin, placing the glass on the table next to the untouched toast. ''...But it's not exactly easy to walk away from someone like Creel, I've seen what happens when you try.'' They're not only reminded of Tara's humiliation and their part in it, but also the fear they'd felt when experiencing Kate's memories.   "We know about Spider's track record," Jasmine says, wincing slightly at the thought, "And that's why we're not asking you to immediately quit. We know he'd only see that as an insult and would go after you."   "We want to take him down, Rue," Rachel interjects, "Make him pay for all the people he's hurt. You'd be free of him. Actually free. No strings attached. No spies. You'd get to live however you want."   Rue's eyes widen at the suggestion. They let out a mirthless laugh, pinching the bridge of their nose. A little over a month ago, their only concern had been to survive throughout the winter, and now they were talking to one of the most prominent heroes in all of Bathala about taking down one of the most notorious villains.   Strangely, they feel a warmth in their chest, reminding them of the spirits they'd seen last night, reminding them of the injustice done to Kate, ''Spoken like a true hero...'' They mumble dejectedly. Their hands are still visibly shaking as they ball them into fists, their jaw tense as they finally raise their head, ''What do you need me to do?''   "Spider's got his spies, it'd be nice to have one of our own. Just keep doing what you're doing," Jasmine says, "Stay in Spider's good graces for now. Give us anything that can positively tie him to his crimes. Anything that'll help put a case together."   "We've got a friend," Rachel continues, "A detective. He can keep safe any evidence you can safely get to us."   ''Ah. Yeah... About that detective friend of yours,'' They awkwardly rub the back of their neck, looking somewhat sheepish. ''I'm supposed to be tailing him, Spider wants some dirt he could use to get him to back off.''   "Hmm..." Jasmine rubs her chin, suddenly deep in thought, "That complicates things..."   "Did you manage to find anything?" Rachel asks, seemingly with a vested interest.   Uncertain if Jasmine is in the know, Rue meets Suplex's gaze, ''Not a thing," they shake their head with a small smile.   Rachel gives Rue a long and meaningful look, and opens her mouth as if to say something before Jasmine pipes up, "What about Amelia?" She asks, looking at Rachel.   "Amelia Abel?" Rachel says, incredulously, and Rue can't help but note a slight downwards glance as the woman's name comes up, "What about her?"   "Well, Alec still sees her regularly, and from the outside she looks like just another unfortunate person maimed in an accident, but we know that the wheelchair she uses is also a mechanised suit," she chuckles a little at her own plan, "She'd paste any random thug Spider would send her way."   "You reckon she'd volunteer to be bait?" Rachel asks.   "I have no doubt. Remember, she's a police officer too. Alec can then pretend to back off and all the while, we'll have implemented our very own mole in his organisation." She looks up at Rue, "What do you think, Rue? Would Spider consider that a weakness worth exploiting?"   ''Hmm, I suppose that could work.'' They agree. They don't entirely feel comfortable adding another person into the equation, but with no alternative, they're prepared to give it a try.   ''I'll need to give him something concrete, though, like a photo of them together. Think we can get that set up soon?''   They're suddenly very aware of the absence of their own belongings, including their phone. Uncertain how much time has passed, they can't help but wonder if the Spider has demanded another report from them.   "Yeah, I think we can manage that," Jasmine says, "Rachel, get Alec on the phone and see if he can convince Amelia to get in on the plan. Rue, you can keep the shirt, since your clothes were sort of ruined." She nods over to a plastic bag near the wall, though their Jeans seem to be placed next to it, seemingly spared of the worst damage, "We'll take you home, and once we've got the photo, we'll send it through and you can report back to Spider."   "Think you can walk, Rue?" Rachel adds.   ''Yeah, I'll be fine,'' They reassure them. ''It's not my first time walking around with stitches.''   Looking at the two women, Rue heaves a sigh, using their telekinesis to retrieve the plastic bag and jeans. At Jasmine's expression, they give a small shrug. As fate would have it, their phone does not switch on when they fish it out of the bag, the battery dead.   ''Huh. Guess that's as good an excuse for not reporting back as any...'' They snort.   After a few minutes of wrestling with the jeans, they carefully turn on the sofa, placing their feet on the ground and taking a moment to prepare themself for the pain they know will follow when they stand up.   "I knew there was something a little special about you, Rue," Jasmine grins as she grabs her jacket and boots, "Seems handy..."   "Need a hand?" Rachel asks as she too prepares to go and stands up, offering an outstretched palm to them.   ''That's alright.'' They shake their head, gritting their teeth as they stand up, the pain in their side flaring up. Their movements are slow and careful, their skin a little paler than usual. ''This will be fun to hide...''   "Alright then, Rue." Rachel says, retracting her hand, "We'll be in touch."   Jasmine takes the time to drive Rue home, making sure to park a little way down the road in case anyone is watching the place, "Alright Rue, here we are," she takes out a small piece of paper and hands it to them, "My new number. Like I said before, if you need anything, don't be afraid to call."   ''I am sorry about that,'' They say with a contrite tone, taking the piece of paper and slipping it into their back pocket. ''I didn't know how to get the photo off your phone, so I had to improvise.''   After carefully looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Rue gets out of the car, walking in the direction of their flat. It takes them twice as long as it normally would, the slippery surfaces not helping in the slightest, and they feel absolutely drained once they step into the lift.   Hopeful that Doug might be asleep after his shift, they quietly open the door to the apartment, kicking off their boots at the entrance and slowly shuffling in the direction of their bedroom. With the sun rising outside, Rue is comforted slightly by the distinct sound of snoring coming from Doug's bedroom. They make their way into their room, plug the phone into the wall, lay down, and fall into a dead sleep.   To be continued...